Connecting people in Istanbul and Kirkuk overland

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

refid:10705542 ilişkili resim dosyası

Although there are only a limited number of buses traveling, knowing there is way to travel is believed to have made people feel closer to one another, reported daily Zaman.

The buses carry Turkmen, Arab and Kurdish people who want to visit family, relatives and friends in Istanbul. The buses, owned by a company based in the southeastern city of Mardin, currently travel twice a week. Although the trip is long and difficult, it is as popular as flight tickets to Kirkuk from Istanbul, which cost around $500 while the bus trip costs $130. The reason that flight tickets are so expensive is that the flights have high insurance premiums because of Iraq’s security issues.

For many Iraqis, the bus is a much cheaper option for travel to Turkey. While most passengers are Turkmens, the Arabs and Kurds also reserve seats to visit Turkey as tourists. An employee of Al-Mubarek of the Turkmen- and Kurdish-partnered bus company said there were also passengers who travel to Ankara after they reach Istanbul.

"The reason the bus has suddenly become popular is that its price is affordable," said Sabah Tevfik, adding that the bus company received permission from the Regional Kurdish government before they started operating.

’Travelling by bus enables seeing the environment’
 Abdülmecid Abbas, 72, traveled from Istanbul to Kirkuk for the first time in 10 years during the Feast of the Sacrifice to see his siblings and relatives whom he had not seen for a long time.

Maria Hana, a Christian Arab, said her friends had said many good things about Turkey and she thought she would not be able to see the beauty of the environment if she traveled by plane.

The buses also carry cargo. Hayrullah Hasan is one customer who sent a box to Istanbul via this service. Muhammed Nazım, another passenger, said: "To fly to Istanbul you have to go to Baghdad, Arbil or Sulaimaniya. Besides, taking a bus is more comfortable."

Bus driver Rıdvan Değer said the buses have traveled between Istanbul and Kirkuk for the last six months and they have not encountered any problems except time spent waiting at borders. The route from Kirkuk goes through Zaho, Silopi and then to Mardin, Gaziantep, Adana and uses the Ankara highway to reach Istanbul in 28 hours.